Scandinavian Design Group

PROSA

Background

Prosa is Norway's largest literary journal, publishing 6 issues yearly. When the new editor came on board in 2011 he wanted to update the visual expression and create a more open and welcoming design - in a field traditionally seen as closed. The new visual profile should also reflect the journal's new, revived content.
The majority of Prosa´s readership was NFF members. The new editor wanted to gain a wider readership who would discover the magazine's relevant features without being deterred by the idea of literature, and wanted to give the magzine a clearer and more attractive visual profile in each copy. Indeed it was to get a whole new logo, layout and format.

Process

To help with a better reading experience, a more open layout was selected, giving more space to each article. The layout should invite readers to scan each article, rather than deter them with dense text and little differentiation between pages. Images, headlines and quotes became more prominent.
Visually the new profile and layout were to support the serious fundament the editor had already developed. In addition to these objectives to make the magazine more accessible, it should also convey integrity and uniqueness.
Within a tight grid with strong guidelines for colour and type, images and text sizes can be used to vary the page layout, always maintaining the theme through the magazine, and from issue to issue.

"The new Prosa has received an open, visual and exciting expression which we feel well reflects the content.
"Prosa sits well on newsagent shelves, and subscribers are getting a somewhat different journal in the post. We hope that the new design will lead more readers to Prosa", says the editor Per Ola Solberg